Questions and Answers

Buick Park Avenue Code 23 Q. Hi Vincent, My name is Jeff and I have a 1992 Park Avenue (not an Ultra) that I am getting a Code 23. I recently bought one of those little code readers (that's before I came upon this site on the internet) and it is showing me a code 23. The main reason I bought this reader is that I was getting a slipping or jumping action out of my transmission when in cruise control, going up a grade.

At first I thought it was the transmission, but I have had that checked out and there is nothing wrong with the transmission (or so the mechanics say). So I bought this reader and it is giving me this code 23. The book that came with the reader states that it could be one of three things:

(1) MAT sensor - low or high voltage signal;
(2) TPS sensor error; or
(3) Mixture Control solenoid - open or short circuit problems.

And just recently, we started getting a little backfiring (I believe under the hood) that quite concerns me. Could one of these symptoms that is associated with this code 23 be causing the backfiring as well? I would appreciate any information that you could forward to me and suggestions on what I could look for and fix myself to alleviate these problems.

We bought this car in 1997, with only 68,000 miles on it and it has been a very good car to us. We would like to keep it a few more years. The only difference between this car and the Ultra is, we don't have the turbocharger on this car. We have just about everything else. I thank you in advance Vincent for any help you can give me.

Jeff

A. Well, I don't have a 1992 book in front of me but I would say it's not the M/C solenoid. It could be a Manifold Air Temp sensor or wire problem. This should be a sensor in the intake snorkel. If you clear the codes and unplug this sensor and start it up, code 23 will be back. 23 can also be the Throttle Position Sensor. This is screwed onto the throttle lever, three wires. Could be a bad sensor or wires in either sensor. A service manual would tell you how to test these components and ease diagnosis.

A code 23 is "Intake Air Temp (IAT) Sensor (Low Temp Indicated)"